BACKGROUND: CBS's "60 Minutes" program has
aired a segment on the proposed exploration for oil in the Alaska
National Wildlife Refuge. The segment, done by Leslie Stahl, was
surprisingly objective, pitting the pro-drilling views of Alaska's
Democratic Governor Tony Knowles and Ken Boyd, the state's former
Director of the Division of Gas and Oil against the admittedly
anti-development views of Deborah Williams of the Alaska Conservation
Foundation. However, the program did get a few facts wrong.

TEN SECOND RESPONSE: CBS should be commended for taking
a reasonable and objective view on the issue of oil exploration
in the Alaska National Wildlife refuge. They missed on a few facts
but, by and large, did a good job.

THIRTY SECOND RESPONSE: Leslie Stahl and CBS should
be commended for taking a balanced look at the issue of oil exploration
in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. We can recover oil from
ANWR in an environmentally responsible way. We proved that in
Prudhoe Bay, where the Caribou herd has now grown to record proportions.
And, as Stahl reported, new drilling techniques are much more
environment-friendly than those used back then. We are facing
a genuine energy crisis which is, even now, beginning to take
its toll on our economy and put Americans out of work. Instead
of spreading unfounded environmental fears, we should, as Governor
Knowles said, "let science be the guide" on drilling.

DISCUSSION: The CBS program introduced a debate as to
whether there are 3 billion barrels of oil recoverable in ANWR,
as environmentalists claim ,or 16 billion barrels, as the industry
says. The Energy Information Agency says there is a virtual certainty
of 5.7 billion barrels and a possibility of 16 billion barrels,
with 10.3 billion barrels being the expected amount of recoverable
oil.

Ms. Stahl claimed that, in ANWR's coastal plain, "one and
a half million acres are vulnerable to future exploration."
While technically true, any exploration would require an Act of
Congress and only 2,000 of ANWR's 19.5 million acres are under
consideration for drilling, thanks to modern drilling techniques,
described on the program.

Ms. Stahl said, looking at the oil fields of Prudhoe Bay, "it
ain't wilderness any more." Actually, as far as the wildlife
is concerned, it's just fine. (For photos of the area's caribou
herd (whose size is at an all-time high) migrating through Prudhoe
Bay oil fields and bear walking on the pipeline, go to http://www.anwr.org
and click on "Photo Gallery.")

Ms. Stahl, after questioning Ms. Williams of the Alaska Conservation
Foundation about which wildlife safeguards she would require to
agree with drilling, said to Williams, "I'm beginning to
figure out that there really isn't anything that would satisfy
you." Williams replied, "No."

Williams, and other environmentalists, are apparently unwilling
to, as Governor Knowles suggested, "let science be the guide."

by Tom Randall, Director of Environmental & Regulatory
Affairs, The National Center for Public Policy Research